Senior point guard Bronson Koenig scored 16 points and senior forward Nigel Hayes added 14 points and five assists to help UW (1-0), which was upset by Western Illinois in its opener a year ago, get off on the right foot this season.

The Badgers never trailed and kept throwing fresh bodies at the Bears, eventually wearing them down. Ten Badgers played at least 12 minutes, with Koenig and Hayes topping out at 24 apiece.

“Teams that win championships usually have people that pick up slack when the better players have off games,” Pennell said. “That wasn’t needed tonight, but you saw a really good bench effort by the Badgers.”

Senior guard Derreck Brooks scored 12 points to lead Central Arkansas (0-1), which shot just 28.3 percent from the field.

The Badgers have spent a lot of time working on defense during the preseason, and it showed in the opener.

“I’ve done a lot of drills, pulled drills out from yesteryear and really have focused on that,” UW coach Greg Gard said, “because I knew we were going to have to be a really good defensive team.”

Nov. 15, CenturyLink Center Omaha

Record: 1-1

OMAHA, Neb. – The two winningest teams in University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program history passed through this town and this venue, both during the stretch run of seasons that ended with 30-plus victories.

Will the 2016-17 Badgers join that exclusive club? While that’s not a question that can be answered in mid-November, a return to the CenturyLink Center at lest offered an early season measuring stick for No. 9 UW.

The result, a 79-67 loss to No. 22 Creighton before a raucous crowd of 17,879 Tuesday night, provided a valuable learning experience and perhaps a dose of humility to a UW team that entered the season with its sights set on winning a national title.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig scored 21 points for UW, which was competing in the Gavitt Tipoff Games for the first time, while senior forward Nigel Hayes added 16.

“I liked our guys’ effort,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “I thought the execution is something that looked like it was November 15 and we have to get a lot better at it.”

The Bluejays’ three-guard tandem of sophomore Khyri Thomas, senior Maurice Watson Jr. and junior Marcus Foster combined for 50 points to help Creighton (2-0), looking for its first NCAA tournament berth since 2014, put an impressive non-conference win on its resume.

Thomas led the way with 18 points, including 15 in the second half. Watson added 17 points and 10 assists, while Foster finished with 15 points.

“That’s a heck of a win,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after the Bluejays’ first non-conference home win over a top-10 opponent since 1973. “You could argue that it might be the best win we’ve had since I’ve been here when you consider where we’re trying to get the program back to, where Wisconsin’s program is today and how we did it.”

Led by Trice and Iverson, the Badgers finished with a 36-4 cushion in bench points over the Cougars.

“That’s the nice thing about having guys on the bench,” Gard said. “People go in and play as hard as you can, as smart as you can for as long as you can and then somebody else will come in and repeat.”

Trice, a late signee in the 2016 recruiting class, has been a pleasant surprise for the Badgers early in his career. After playing just four minutes in a 79-67 loss at No. 22 Creighton on Tuesday night, he entered the game against the Cougars with just over 5 minutes elapsed and played a key role during a 19-0 run that helped UW (2-1) dig itself out of an early hole.

The freshman point guard made an immediate impact, dishing out assists on his first two possessions. UW scored 18 points in nine possessions during one stretch, with Trice producing a 3-pointer and four assists while running the point during most of that burst.

“As of right now, I’m just doing everything I can to be on the floor, earn my minutes and help this team win in any way possible,” said Trice, who didn’t have any turnovers in 23 minutes of action. “That’s what I’m here to do, and I’m going to keep doing that.”

UW coach Greg Gard called his team "relentless" after the Badgers posted a massive 50-21 edge in rebounding, including 20-1 on the offensive glass, to win the rubber match in their third meeting against the Hoyas in as many seasons.

The Badgers (4-1) will play either No. 4 North Carolina or Oklahoma State in Wednesday night’s final. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m.

“Really, it was just a lot of work,” said Happ, who grabbed eight offensive rebounds en route to his 11th career double-double. “When you’re tired, you’ve just got to bust down to the block and get position before the shot goes up. That just shows how much we were willing to work that we were getting that many opportunities.”

Through five games, UW is plus-96 in rebounding margin. The Badgers have finished with a double-digit cushion on the glass in all five of those games.

“I think it's become the identity of this team,” Gard said. “There are times when it's not pretty. In fact, there are times when we will have to win ugly.

“And that may be one of the areas where we can really make up for deficiencies in other areas.”

Senior forward Nigel Hayes finished with a game-high 17 points to lead six players in double figures for the No. 16 Badgers (5-2). Hayes and sophomore forward Ethan Happ, who finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, helped UW outscore the Panthers 42-18 in the paint.

A blowout win over the Panthers (2-5) was expected, but Badgers coach Greg Gard had a legitimate reason to be concerned about how crisp his team would be. UW returned to town late Thursday night after playing three games in as many days at the Maui Invitational and has a game against No. 18 Syracuse looming on Tuesday night.

“We’ve had teams come off trips like this and really be in a fog,” Gard said. “I thought they were in a fog a little bit (Saturday), but (were) better today and obviously were pretty efficient in doing what we asked and tried to concentrate on.”

Fans have been clamoring for Hayes to spend less time on the perimeter and more time attacking the basket. That wish was granted by Hayes, who was dominant while matching his season high in points in only 19 minutes of action.

Hayes finished 5 of 5 from the field – none of those attempts were from outside the paint – and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.

Four days after finishing with nine points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Syracuse, Hayes led all players with 28 points and six assists as the Badgers (7-2) overcame a sluggish first half to blow past the Sooners.

Before the season, Hayes spoke of his desire to play with a killer instinct that he thought was lacking at times last season. It hasn’t always been on display during the four weeks of this season, either, but there’s no doubt Hayes has been in attack mode ever since UW returned from its trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.

“I think what we’ve seen is him understanding and the team understanding what makes him and us our best, and it’s ironically one in the same,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “He has a unique skill set in terms of his size, his quickness, his strength. He’s a hard matchup. The further he gets away from the basket, the more the hard-matchup scenarios level off or dissipate.”

After going 8 of 13 from the field and attempting a season-high 13 free throws vs. Oklahoma – he made 10 – Hayes was quick to dish out another assist while acknowledging the performance was a blueprint of what he was describing before the season began.

“I had some reassurance with that mind-set,” he said. “Yesterday, if you could have heard the phone call my mother (Talaya Davis) had, you know how my mother is, she definitely got into me and wanted me to make sure I came in here and played hard, aggressive, and that’s what I tried to do: Be aggressive offensively. If I don’t have anything, find my teammates.”

Dec. 7, Kohl Center

Record: 8-2

After spending the previous two hours watching his players struggle to score against the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team Wednesday night, Idaho State coach Bill Evans walked into the Kohl Center media room and took a seat.

Evans picked up the bottle of cherry-berry flavored Aspire sports drink next to the microphone in front of him and let loose with some gallows humor.

“Is this tequila, or something else?” Evans said. “Because if it’s not tequila, I’m not really interested. I don’t drink, either, but I’m about ready to try it.”

Sophomore forward Ethan Happ posted his fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds as UW (8-2) extended its overall winning streak to four games heading into a showdown with in-state rival Marquette (7-2) on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.

The Badgers were sluggish at times against Idaho State, and they certainly didn’t get much of an energy boost from a crowd that was sleepy from the opening tip until the final buzzer.

Not that there was much on the court that would have put the fans on the edge of their seats. UW scored the first eight points of the game and led by double digits for the final 32 minutes, 26 seconds.

While the Badgers’ offense struggled to get in sync, the defense was solid from start to finish.

“I thought we were pretty sharp for quite a bit of that game,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “There were a few breakdowns here or there that we’ll look at on film, but I thought for the most part defensively we were in position, we were attentive to detail and we really did a pretty good job of making life difficult” for the Bengals.

Dec. 10, Bradley Center

Record: 9-2

MILWAUKEE – Losing to Marquette last season was bad enough for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team, but it was the way the Badgers were beaten that left a bitter taste in their mouths for the 52 weeks that followed.

Not only was UW crushed in the paint, there was little question afterward that the Golden Eagles had shown more heart and effort.

The Badgers didn’t need to be reminded of those things leading up to the 123rd installment of the rivalry. But just in case, UW coach Greg Gard offered a few not-so-subtle prompts anyway.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures for UW (9-2), which extended its winning streak to five games by dominating the first 12 minutes of the second half to erase a five-point halftime deficit.

“That was definitely a point of emphasis before the game is that Marquette just played harder than us last year – in Madison, too,” said Koenig, who added a game-high six assists. “So we just wanted to come here and do the same thing, play harder, get to loose balls first and everything like that. Last year’s game definitely stuck with us and affected this year’s.”

The Badgers shot 64.3 percent from the field and averaged 1.57 points per possession in the second half to produce their highest point total in a series that dates to 1917.

“It’s nice, it gave me a little bit of a chill feeling,” said Happ, a sophomore forward. “But I want to get it to the point they don’t have to do that every time that I make a shot. Hopefully down the road, that’s just a normal clap.”

Senior forward Nigel Hayes scored a game-high 24 points, while Happ added 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists to help the Badgers (10-2) stretch their winning streak to six games heading into a break for final exams.

The first 228 field goals of Happ’s career were made in the paint. That streak ended when he made a shot from the left elbow with 9 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the first half.

It wasn’t the only thing the Badgers did that left the Phoenix (4-6) shrugging their shoulders on defense. Linc Darner’s team certainly wasn’t expecting to be burned by UW senior guard Zak Showalter, who matched his career high with four 3-pointers en route to a season-high 16 points.

“I think with playing them, you’ve got to pick your poison what are you going to give up?” Darner said. “It was almost like he knew we weren’t going to come out and guard him and he just caught it in rhythm. Our thing was we wanted to jab at guys, trying to get guys to think are we coming or are we not? It’s probably something that we haven’t worked on enough.”

Showalter also played a key role in a solid defensive performance for the Badgers, finishing with a career-high six steals and doing his part to hold UW-Green Bay’s second-leading scorer, freshman guard Trevor Anderson, to three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

UW never trailed and built a 24-point lead late in the first half. A big reason for that was Brown, who had eight points and seven rebounds by halftime.

“I thought he rebounded as well as he has, maybe all year,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “He was pretty active. That’s one thing that he’s trying to improve and find other ways to contribute other than just shooting – defensively try to be more active, obviously on the glass, being more of a presence on both ends of the floor. I thought he did that for the most part, specifically in the first half, which was good to see.”

Brown was blunt in his assessment of what led to his performance against the Rattlers.

“I was just getting tired of being (6-foot-8) and in good shape and not getting any rebounds,” Brown said. “I just felt like I was kind of useless for the team in that regard, so I wanted to make my mark on the game. That was my main focus heading into the game was to try to crash the glass a little bit more.”

Freshman guard D’Mitrik Trice went 4 of 5 from 3-point range and scored a game-high 14 points to help the Badgers (11-2) post the fourth-largest margin of victory in program history.

Dec. 27, Kohl Center

Record: 12-2, 1-0 Big Ten

When Zak Showalter was asked about his recent surge in scoring Tuesday night, the senior guard on the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team made it clear that the explanation went beyond anything he’s doing.

“Guys just giving me the ball in good positions,” Showalter said, nodding at senior forward Nigel Hayes and sophomore forward Ethan Happ. “That’s pretty easy to do when you’ve got teammates like these guys. Guys have been collapsing on them, and obviously that presents opportunities and I’ve just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Hayes scored a game-high 20 points and Happ added 10 points and 11 rebounds for UW, which extended its winning streak to eight games heading into a challenging stretch that includes road trips to No. 16 Indiana on Jan. 3 and No. 15 Purdue on Jan. 8.

The Badgers (12-2, 1-0 Big Ten) never trailed against the Scarlet Knights, but Rutgers cut a 21-point deficit to single digits in the second half. Showalter stepped up to help stop the bleeding, scoring 10 points during a 14-2 run that put the game out of reach.

Showalter finished three points shy of his career high, set last season against Rutgers. He’s averaging 12.5 points over his last four games, easing the load on UW’s “Big Three” of Hayes, Happ and senior point guard Bronson Koenig.

Jan. 3, Assembly Hall

Record: 13-2 (2-0 Big Ten)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – There was one word that was mentioned more than any other as the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team prepared for what was to come Tuesday night.

Composure.

Ethan Happ didn’t want to venture a guess on exactly how many times it was said by one of the team’s veterans or a member of the coaching staff, so the sophomore forward settled on a range instead: more than 20, less than 35.

“We’ve played in some pretty crazy places and in some pretty intense games,” UW senior point guard Bronson Koenig said. “With a group full of veterans like this, I knew we wouldn’t be rattled at all and we’d keep our composure.”

It was the first loss in more than six weeks for the Badgers (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten), who shot 39.0 percent from the field and finished with a season-low 0.859 points per possession. UW, which shot 40.0 percent from 3-point range during its winning streak, went 2 of 14 from the 3-point range against the Boilermakers (14-3, 3-1).

The Badgers hadn’t seen a defense as good as Purdue’s since their last defeat, a 71-56 setback against North Carolina in the final of the Maui Invitational more than six weeks ago.

“We have to make shots against a team like this,” UW coach Greg Gard said.

The Badgers (15-3, 4-1 Big Ten) struggled offensively for the first 28 minutes of the game and had some lapses on the other end of the court as well. Still, they flipped the switch in time to avoid a damaging loss in their quest for a second conference title in three seasons.

“There are going to be nights like this, like I told our guys, where you’ve just got to dig in and continue to scrap and fight and find a way,” UW coach Greg Gard said after his team moved into a tie with Maryland atop the Big Ten standings. “But I was proud of our guys for how they responded and didn’t back down when things maybe weren’t going well.”

Jan. 21, Williams Arena

Record: 16-3, 5-1 Big Ten

MINNEAPOLIS – After the final buzzer sounded, when an emotionally draining victory was finally secured for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team, Ethan Happ found a spot on the Williams Arena court and sprawled out.

Before teammates arrived to help him to his feet, Happ spent a few moments on his back, his hands on his head as he looked up at the rafters.

“That,” Happ said of his reaction, “was a mixture of happiness and exhaustion.”

UW moved back into a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference thanks in large part to a monster performance from Happ, who scored a career-high 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals in 38 minutes.

The Badgers (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten) also needed big plays from seniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig. Hayes was on the floor for a game-high 42 minutes and finished with 21 points, while Koenig’s second clutch 3-pointer of the extra session put UW ahead for good in the final minute.

Afterward, UW coach Greg Gard called it a “heck of a college basketball game,” and that was probably an understatement.

Jan. 24, Kohl Center

Record: 17-3, 6-1 Big Ten

Greg Gard was not a happy camper in the first half Tuesday night, and the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach got even more annoyed when he used part of the halftime break to watch some video clips from the opening 20 minutes.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig continued his hot shooting from outside in Big Ten play, finishing with four 3-pointers and a game-high 20 points as UW (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten) extended its winning streak to four games.

Senior forward Vitto Brown added a season-high 16 points and sophomore forward Ethan Happ had 14 for the Badgers, who outscored the Nittany Lions 46-22 in the second half.

Gard’s main gripe in the first half was UW’s transition defense. After UW was slow to get set on defense and allowed Penn State junior forward Payton Banks to hit an open 3-pointer late in the first half, cutting the Badgers’ lead to two points, Gard called timeout and was livid in the huddle.

“It’s one thing if they come down and hit a 3 that’s highly contested,” Gard said. “But we had totally lost guys in transition and typically we just didn’t communicate well enough.”

At halftime, Gard in his assistants spent some time in the coaches’ locker room going over clips of UW’s struggles on defense.

“I got reminded very vividly of what happened to us in transition,” Gard said. “So it helped me refresh my memory exactly who and when and how. We just had to re-emphasize our rules in transition, re-emphasize that probably nobody in the country works on that more than us from October on and we have to have some pride in that. And they did. They responded.”

Sophomore forward Ethan Happ finished with a career-high 32 points to help UW avoid a major upset and remain tied with Maryland atop the Big Ten.

Koenig added 10 points for UW, which overcame a nine-point deficit over the final 3 minutes, 11 seconds of regulation and won despite shooting 12.0 percent (3 of 25) from 3-point range.

The Badgers (18-3, 7-1 Big Ten) finished at 33.3 percent overall, but it took a red-hot closing stretch to get to that mark.

As he watched his team go 9 of 46 from the field with 32 points in its first 58 possessions, UW coach Greg Gard said he resorted to telling jokes in the huddle during breaks to try to loosen up his players.

Not only did UW break out of its slump, it was nearly unstoppable down the stretch. Over the final 8:11 of the game, the Badgers went 11 of 14 from the field with 29 points in 15 possessions.

“Obviously, not exactly a thing of beauty,” Gard said after his team overcame field goal droughts of 13:52 and 7:19. “But thankfully, defensively we were able to get some things done and we kept them off the glass enough. And then eventually, just about in the nick of time, we were able to get a couple of shots to go down.”

Jan. 31, State Farm Center

Record: 19-3, 8-1 Big Ten

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – One of the more amazing stats from a series that has become one-sided is that Illinois hasn’t scored more than 70 points in a game against the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team in 12 years.

The Fighting Illini didn’t even come close to reaching that mark Tuesday night.

Nigel Hayes added 11 points and eight rebounds as UW won its sixth consecutive game to remain tied for first place in the Big Ten Conference with Maryland.

The Badgers (19-3, 8-1 Big Ten) struggled offensively for the second game in a row, shooting just 40.7 percent this time, but it didn’t matter.

“Terrific defensively,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “Maybe as well as we’ve played defensively in terms of what we did in the half-court.”

Gard had warned his players leading up to the game that Illinois had shown offensive firepower at home this season. The Illini were 10-2 at home before Tuesday, averaging 83.2 points per game while shooting 49.9 percent at the State Farm Center.

Feb. 5, Kohl Center

Record: 20-3 (9-1 Big Ten)

It would have taken a trip to information-shutdown mode – no television, no social media – for the members of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team to not notice what was happening in the college basketball world on Saturday.

Not only did home teams go winless in four Big Ten Conference games, six of the top nine teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll went down on a wild day around the nation.

Hayes went 7 of 8 from the free throw line, making two in the closing seconds to seal UW’s 19th consecutive win at home.

A week after moving back into the Top 10 of the AP rankings, the Badgers likely will climb a few more spots when a new poll is released Monday.

“The scary thing is, the smaller that number is next to your name, the harder the games get,” Hayes said. “It’s always tough, but I think it’s something that you enjoy, getting the best (from opponents). No one wants to play in 20-point blowouts night in and night out, so the competition and close games is something that we look forward to. But we also know that again, as that number gets smaller, the bulls-eye gets bigger.”

Hayes’ 3-pointer with 18.4 seconds remaining led to a win that gave UW a 1½-game lead in the Big Ten with seven games to play. While second-place Purdue won earlier Thursday night at Indiana, three other title contenders – Maryland, Northwestern and Michigan State – lost earlier this week.

The Badgers (21-3, 10-1 Big Ten), meanwhile, keep taking care of business. Their eighth consecutive victory wasn’t pretty – that’s becoming a familiar refrain with this team – but UW will take a road win any way it can get it, style points be damned.

Nebraska coach Tim Miles may have summed it up best after the game when talking about the Badgers, whose winning streak includes three overtime wins and two other games decided by six or fewer points.

“They’ve been through battles,” Miles said, “and they don’t get rattled.”

McIntosh finished with a game-high 25 points and also produced seven rebounds and seven assists in a magnificent performance that moved Northwestern one step closer to the first NCAA tournament berth in program history.

He’d get no argument from a sellout crowd of 17,287 at the Kohl Center, but it’s still an eye-opening statement considering UW’s lineup includes a Big Ten Conference Player of the Year candidate in Ethan Happ and two other All-Big Ten candidates in Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig.

Happ finished with nine points, but the sophomore forward didn’t make a field goal over the final 34 minutes, 14 seconds of the game. His lack of production around the rim was a big reason UW managed a season-low 12 points in the paint, 21.5 under its season average.

Feb. 16, Crisler Center

Record: 21-5 (10-3 Big Ten)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Even without Bronson Koenig in the lineup, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team had a chance to escape Crisler Arena with a victory that would have kept it alone atop the Big Ten Conference standings.

“It’s tough to not have ‘B’ in there, of course,” UW sophomore forward Ethan Happ said of Koenig, who sat out with a strained left calf. "But it was a winnable game.”

Losing it means the Badgers (21-5, 10-3 Big Ten), who have lost consecutive games for the first time this season, find themselves in a three-way tie for first place with Maryland and Purdue. This defeat, combined with one at home to Northwestern on Sunday, caused UW’s 1½-game lead in the standings to disappear in a span of five days.

The Badgers don’t have time to lick their wounds. They host the Terrapins on Sunday at the Kohl Center, and it’s quite possible UW will have to take on Melo Trimble and Co. without Koenig.

“It stinks, it really does,” Happ said. “But nothing we can do about it now besides move on to Sunday.”

Michigan’s third victory in its last 20 meetings with UW gave the Wolverines’ NCAA tournament hoops a big boost.

Feb. 19, Kohl Center

Record: 22-5, 11-3 Big Ten

If ever a moment required urgency, it was the one staring the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team in the face as it returned to the floor for the second half Sunday afternoon.

The Badgers were facing a six-point deficit in a game it needed to win in order to avoid falling behind two teams in the Big Ten Conference with four games to play. A defeat would have extended UW’s skid to three games heading into a two-game road trip this week.

Given that backdrop, it’s not hyperbole to call it the most important half of the season to date for Greg Gard’s team.

The Badgers outscored the Terrapins 44-27 after halftime and finished with a 26-11 rebounding advantage during that stretch, including 10-3 on the offensive glass. UW displayed the determination and toughness that had been missing in back-to-back losses to Northwestern and Michigan.

“That’s kind of why we dropped the last two,” Hayes said. “We haven’t matched or exceeded the sense of urgency that other teams are playing with. They’re fighting for their tournament lives and trying to build a resume, and we should be fighting to have kept the lead (in the Big Ten) that we did have.”

The most disappointing aspect of the Badgers’ third loss in four games was how they were outworked by a team on a three-game losing streak that had only one team below it in the Big Ten standings entering the night.

“You’ve always got to be fearful of the team or the person who has nothing to lose, and that’s kind of what happened tonight,” UW senior Bronson Koenig said. “They were just tougher than us, they beat us to loose balls and they played harder than us. That’s something we pride ourselves on.”

Koenig matched a career high with 27 points and became UW’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, but he got little help.

Worse yet, the Badgers (22-6, 11-4 Big Ten) were atrocious on defense, an area of strength all season.

UW had a chance to move back into a first-place tie with Purdue atop the Big Ten standings with a win after Michigan did the Badgers a favor Saturday by beating the visiting Boilermakers 82-70 at Crisler Arena.

Instead, the Badgers (22-7, 11-5 Big Ten) remain one game back with two to play and have three teams – Maryland, Minnesota and Michigan State – nipping at their heels.

“Only so much can be said, there’s got to be actions behind those words,” senior point guard Bronson Koenig said after UW’s fourth loss in five games. “It’s not the end of the world. We’ve been through this before, so it’s about how we respond.”

Meanwhile, the way the Badgers (22-8, 11-6 Big Ten) collapsed was brutal for a team that had a 1½-game lead in the Big Ten standings after an overtime win at Nebraska on Feb. 9. After five losses in a span of seven games, the best UW can do is finish in second place behind outright champion Purdue.

“To go out on this kind of note against a really good team, I thought it was great,” Koenig said after UW snapped the Golden Gophers’ eight-game winning streak. “Just everything.”

Koenig played a key role, scoring all 17 of his points after halftime to help the Badgers (23-8, 12-6 Big Ten) wrap up the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. They’ll play either Iowa or Indiana in a quarterfinal game on Friday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

UW finished in a tie for second place with Maryland in the regular-season standings but earned the tiebreaker because of a victory over the Terrapins two weeks ago. That was the Badgers’ only victory in a span of six games, a slump that derailed their title chances and weighed heavily on the four seniors nearing the end of their time at UW.

When Greg Gard addressed his team before the game Sunday, he told them to just relax and play. That’s easier said than done, but eventually the Badgers found a path to happiness.

March 10, Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

Record: 24-8

WASHINGTON – The topic of an early exit from the last year’s Big Ten Conference tournament came up as the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team was preparing for the 2017 event.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation.

The one thing UW had going for it this time around was its opponent. The No. 24 Badgers have been a thorn in Indiana’s side for the better part of a decade, and that trend continued Friday night at the Verizon Center.

The victory helped the Badgers complete a three-game sweep of Indiana this season. Dating to 2008, UW has won 18 of 20 meetings between these teams.

Most importantly, the win helped the second-seeded Badgers (24-8) take the first step toward a tournament title. They’ll play Northwestern (23-10), the No. 6 seed, Saturday at approximately 2:30 p.m. in a semifinal game.

UW didn’t even make it to the quarterfinal round a year ago after losing by double digits to Nebraska.

“We talked about that earlier today,” Badgers senior guard Zak Showalter said, “that we can’t come in here and lay an egg like we did last year.”

March 10, Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

Record: 25-8

March 10, Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

Record: 25-9

March 16, KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York

Record: 26-9

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A lot was made about the way the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team was treated by the NCAA tournament committee, from the Badgers’ No. 8 seed to the brutal turnaround they were handed after playing Sunday in the Big Ten tournament final.

Say this for the bracket-makers, though: Pitting the Badgers against Virginia Tech resulted in one of the most intriguing first-round matchups in the entire tournament.

The teams were vastly different in terms of style and pedigree. The Badgers were big and dripping with NCAA tournament experience; the Hokies were more guard-oriented and making their first trip to the Big Dance in a decade.

Koenig set a program record with eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points for the Badgers (26-9), who advance to face Villanova (32-3) in the round of 32 on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 1:40 p.m.

Hayes finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Most of that production -- 14 points and seven rebounds -- came after halftime and helped UW hold off several surges by the Hokies (22-11).

“They were great,” UW sophomore center Ethan Happ said. “It’s win or lose, and they stepped up huge for us. That was truly amazing. Both of them, big-time players.”

March 18, KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York

Record: 27-9

BUFFALO, N.Y. – When it was over and the mayhem had died down, Nigel Hayes calmly made his way over to the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball cheering section across from the team’s bench.

The senior forward stepped over a makeshift railing at the KeyBank Center and made his way to his mom for a hug to celebrate the 13th NCAA tournament win of his career. Hayes didn’t say a word, but the moment of silence didn’t last long. Talaya Davis pulled her son close to her and screamed three words into his ear: “We did it!”

The Badgers sure did, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the guy who set a program record Saturday afternoon by appearing in his 149th career game.

Hayes finished with a team-high 19 points and scored the go-ahead basket with 11.4 seconds remaining, lifting UW to a 65-62 victory over defending national champion Villanova.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig added 17 points to help send the Badgers (27-9) to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in seven seasons. They’ll play either Virginia or Florida in an East region semifinal on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Not bad for a team that received a No. 8 seed when the bracket was announced on Selection Sunday.

“Having been in this long enough, having been a 1, having been a 2, having been a 12, you’ve just got to go play,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “Like I said, there’s so much parity, and teams are so good when you get to this time of year, you just have to lace them up and not worry about that. That’s the approach we’ve taken.

“I told these guys, ‘I don’t care where we’re seeded. We have to win six games. Let’s start with these two this weekend.’ ”

March 24, Madison Square Garden in New York

Record: 27-10

NEW YORK — The leaders of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team began the season with big goals and weren’t afraid to share them with anyone who asked.

Senior forward Nigel Hayes was one of three players who represented the Badgers at Big Ten Media Day on Oct. 13 in Washington, D.C. When Hayes was asked during a television interview to finish the sentence, “This season, Wisconsin will …,” he offered the following response: “Have the greatest season of basketball it’s ever had.”

Back then, Hayes and Co. would have scoffed at the suggestion UW would finish the season without winning a Big Ten regular-season or tournament title. And not even being among the Final Four in the NCAA tournament? Not possible.

A game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer by Florida junior guard Chris Chiozza ended the careers of a decorated four-member UW senior class that included Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Zak Showalter and Vitto Brown.

Those four players walked off the floor in stunned silence. UW sophomore center Ethan Happ put his arm around Showalter and told him to hold his tears until the Badgers reached the locker room, but it was too late.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to prevent this whole season, this whole tournament run, having to come back in to tell all these guys I love them and thank you for everything,” Showalter said. “This isn’t how I wanted to do it.”

Hayes scored 22 points to lead five UW players in double figures. The Badgers (27-10) also got 21 points from sophomore center Ethan Happ, 14 from Showalter, 13 from Koenig and 10 from Brown.

Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Gators (27-8), who advance to play South Carolina in a in an Elite Eight matchup on Sunday. The seventh-seeded Gamecocks (25-10) advanced with a 70-50 win over third-seeded Baylor.

Chiozza scored five of his eight points in the final 24 seconds of the game. His last basket is one that will be replayed over and over in the Badgers’ minds for years to come.

“We left it all out on the floor, that’s all we could ask,” Koenig said. “They hit a prayer.”

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Nov. 11, Kohl Center

Record: 1-0

Russ Pennell has long been an admirer of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program, mainly for its work on the defensive end of the court.

That appreciation only grew stronger Friday night for the Central Arkansas coach.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig scored 16 points and senior forward Nigel Hayes added 14 points and five assists to help UW (1-0), which was upset by Western Illinois in its opener a year ago, get off on the right foot this season.

The Badgers never trailed and kept throwing fresh bodies at the Bears, eventually wearing them down. Ten Badgers played at least 12 minutes, with Koenig and Hayes topping out at 24 apiece.

“Teams that win championships usually have people that pick up slack when the better players have off games,” Pennell said. “That wasn’t needed tonight, but you saw a really good bench effort by the Badgers.”

Senior guard Derreck Brooks scored 12 points to lead Central Arkansas (0-1), which shot just 28.3 percent from the field.

The Badgers have spent a lot of time working on defense during the preseason, and it showed in the opener.

“I’ve done a lot of drills, pulled drills out from yesteryear and really have focused on that,” UW coach Greg Gard said, “because I knew we were going to have to be a really good defensive team.”

Nov. 15, CenturyLink Center Omaha

Record: 1-1

OMAHA, Neb. – The two winningest teams in University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program history passed through this town and this venue, both during the stretch run of seasons that ended with 30-plus victories.

Will the 2016-17 Badgers join that exclusive club? While that’s not a question that can be answered in mid-November, a return to the CenturyLink Center at lest offered an early season measuring stick for No. 9 UW.

The result, a 79-67 loss to No. 22 Creighton before a raucous crowd of 17,879 Tuesday night, provided a valuable learning experience and perhaps a dose of humility to a UW team that entered the season with its sights set on winning a national title.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig scored 21 points for UW, which was competing in the Gavitt Tipoff Games for the first time, while senior forward Nigel Hayes added 16.

“I liked our guys’ effort,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “I thought the execution is something that looked like it was November 15 and we have to get a lot better at it.”

The Bluejays’ three-guard tandem of sophomore Khyri Thomas, senior Maurice Watson Jr. and junior Marcus Foster combined for 50 points to help Creighton (2-0), looking for its first NCAA tournament berth since 2014, put an impressive non-conference win on its resume.

Thomas led the way with 18 points, including 15 in the second half. Watson added 17 points and 10 assists, while Foster finished with 15 points.

“That’s a heck of a win,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after the Bluejays’ first non-conference home win over a top-10 opponent since 1973. “You could argue that it might be the best win we’ve had since I’ve been here when you consider where we’re trying to get the program back to, where Wisconsin’s program is today and how we did it.”

Led by Trice and Iverson, the Badgers finished with a 36-4 cushion in bench points over the Cougars.

“That’s the nice thing about having guys on the bench,” Gard said. “People go in and play as hard as you can, as smart as you can for as long as you can and then somebody else will come in and repeat.”

Trice, a late signee in the 2016 recruiting class, has been a pleasant surprise for the Badgers early in his career. After playing just four minutes in a 79-67 loss at No. 22 Creighton on Tuesday night, he entered the game against the Cougars with just over 5 minutes elapsed and played a key role during a 19-0 run that helped UW (2-1) dig itself out of an early hole.

The freshman point guard made an immediate impact, dishing out assists on his first two possessions. UW scored 18 points in nine possessions during one stretch, with Trice producing a 3-pointer and four assists while running the point during most of that burst.

“As of right now, I’m just doing everything I can to be on the floor, earn my minutes and help this team win in any way possible,” said Trice, who didn’t have any turnovers in 23 minutes of action. “That’s what I’m here to do, and I’m going to keep doing that.”

UW coach Greg Gard called his team "relentless" after the Badgers posted a massive 50-21 edge in rebounding, including 20-1 on the offensive glass, to win the rubber match in their third meeting against the Hoyas in as many seasons.

The Badgers (4-1) will play either No. 4 North Carolina or Oklahoma State in Wednesday night’s final. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m.

“Really, it was just a lot of work,” said Happ, who grabbed eight offensive rebounds en route to his 11th career double-double. “When you’re tired, you’ve just got to bust down to the block and get position before the shot goes up. That just shows how much we were willing to work that we were getting that many opportunities.”

Through five games, UW is plus-96 in rebounding margin. The Badgers have finished with a double-digit cushion on the glass in all five of those games.

“I think it's become the identity of this team,” Gard said. “There are times when it's not pretty. In fact, there are times when we will have to win ugly.

“And that may be one of the areas where we can really make up for deficiencies in other areas.”

Senior forward Nigel Hayes finished with a game-high 17 points to lead six players in double figures for the No. 16 Badgers (5-2). Hayes and sophomore forward Ethan Happ, who finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, helped UW outscore the Panthers 42-18 in the paint.

A blowout win over the Panthers (2-5) was expected, but Badgers coach Greg Gard had a legitimate reason to be concerned about how crisp his team would be. UW returned to town late Thursday night after playing three games in as many days at the Maui Invitational and has a game against No. 18 Syracuse looming on Tuesday night.

“We’ve had teams come off trips like this and really be in a fog,” Gard said. “I thought they were in a fog a little bit (Saturday), but (were) better today and obviously were pretty efficient in doing what we asked and tried to concentrate on.”

Fans have been clamoring for Hayes to spend less time on the perimeter and more time attacking the basket. That wish was granted by Hayes, who was dominant while matching his season high in points in only 19 minutes of action.

Hayes finished 5 of 5 from the field – none of those attempts were from outside the paint – and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.

Four days after finishing with nine points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Syracuse, Hayes led all players with 28 points and six assists as the Badgers (7-2) overcame a sluggish first half to blow past the Sooners.

Before the season, Hayes spoke of his desire to play with a killer instinct that he thought was lacking at times last season. It hasn’t always been on display during the four weeks of this season, either, but there’s no doubt Hayes has been in attack mode ever since UW returned from its trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.

“I think what we’ve seen is him understanding and the team understanding what makes him and us our best, and it’s ironically one in the same,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “He has a unique skill set in terms of his size, his quickness, his strength. He’s a hard matchup. The further he gets away from the basket, the more the hard-matchup scenarios level off or dissipate.”

After going 8 of 13 from the field and attempting a season-high 13 free throws vs. Oklahoma – he made 10 – Hayes was quick to dish out another assist while acknowledging the performance was a blueprint of what he was describing before the season began.

“I had some reassurance with that mind-set,” he said. “Yesterday, if you could have heard the phone call my mother (Talaya Davis) had, you know how my mother is, she definitely got into me and wanted me to make sure I came in here and played hard, aggressive, and that’s what I tried to do: Be aggressive offensively. If I don’t have anything, find my teammates.”

Dec. 7, Kohl Center

Record: 8-2

After spending the previous two hours watching his players struggle to score against the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team Wednesday night, Idaho State coach Bill Evans walked into the Kohl Center media room and took a seat.

Evans picked up the bottle of cherry-berry flavored Aspire sports drink next to the microphone in front of him and let loose with some gallows humor.

“Is this tequila, or something else?” Evans said. “Because if it’s not tequila, I’m not really interested. I don’t drink, either, but I’m about ready to try it.”

Sophomore forward Ethan Happ posted his fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds as UW (8-2) extended its overall winning streak to four games heading into a showdown with in-state rival Marquette (7-2) on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.

The Badgers were sluggish at times against Idaho State, and they certainly didn’t get much of an energy boost from a crowd that was sleepy from the opening tip until the final buzzer.

Not that there was much on the court that would have put the fans on the edge of their seats. UW scored the first eight points of the game and led by double digits for the final 32 minutes, 26 seconds.

While the Badgers’ offense struggled to get in sync, the defense was solid from start to finish.

“I thought we were pretty sharp for quite a bit of that game,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “There were a few breakdowns here or there that we’ll look at on film, but I thought for the most part defensively we were in position, we were attentive to detail and we really did a pretty good job of making life difficult” for the Bengals.

Dec. 10, Bradley Center

Record: 9-2

MILWAUKEE – Losing to Marquette last season was bad enough for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team, but it was the way the Badgers were beaten that left a bitter taste in their mouths for the 52 weeks that followed.

Not only was UW crushed in the paint, there was little question afterward that the Golden Eagles had shown more heart and effort.

The Badgers didn’t need to be reminded of those things leading up to the 123rd installment of the rivalry. But just in case, UW coach Greg Gard offered a few not-so-subtle prompts anyway.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures for UW (9-2), which extended its winning streak to five games by dominating the first 12 minutes of the second half to erase a five-point halftime deficit.

“That was definitely a point of emphasis before the game is that Marquette just played harder than us last year – in Madison, too,” said Koenig, who added a game-high six assists. “So we just wanted to come here and do the same thing, play harder, get to loose balls first and everything like that. Last year’s game definitely stuck with us and affected this year’s.”

The Badgers shot 64.3 percent from the field and averaged 1.57 points per possession in the second half to produce their highest point total in a series that dates to 1917.

“It’s nice, it gave me a little bit of a chill feeling,” said Happ, a sophomore forward. “But I want to get it to the point they don’t have to do that every time that I make a shot. Hopefully down the road, that’s just a normal clap.”

Senior forward Nigel Hayes scored a game-high 24 points, while Happ added 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists to help the Badgers (10-2) stretch their winning streak to six games heading into a break for final exams.

The first 228 field goals of Happ’s career were made in the paint. That streak ended when he made a shot from the left elbow with 9 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the first half.

It wasn’t the only thing the Badgers did that left the Phoenix (4-6) shrugging their shoulders on defense. Linc Darner’s team certainly wasn’t expecting to be burned by UW senior guard Zak Showalter, who matched his career high with four 3-pointers en route to a season-high 16 points.

“I think with playing them, you’ve got to pick your poison what are you going to give up?” Darner said. “It was almost like he knew we weren’t going to come out and guard him and he just caught it in rhythm. Our thing was we wanted to jab at guys, trying to get guys to think are we coming or are we not? It’s probably something that we haven’t worked on enough.”

Showalter also played a key role in a solid defensive performance for the Badgers, finishing with a career-high six steals and doing his part to hold UW-Green Bay’s second-leading scorer, freshman guard Trevor Anderson, to three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

UW never trailed and built a 24-point lead late in the first half. A big reason for that was Brown, who had eight points and seven rebounds by halftime.

“I thought he rebounded as well as he has, maybe all year,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “He was pretty active. That’s one thing that he’s trying to improve and find other ways to contribute other than just shooting – defensively try to be more active, obviously on the glass, being more of a presence on both ends of the floor. I thought he did that for the most part, specifically in the first half, which was good to see.”

Brown was blunt in his assessment of what led to his performance against the Rattlers.

“I was just getting tired of being (6-foot-8) and in good shape and not getting any rebounds,” Brown said. “I just felt like I was kind of useless for the team in that regard, so I wanted to make my mark on the game. That was my main focus heading into the game was to try to crash the glass a little bit more.”

Freshman guard D’Mitrik Trice went 4 of 5 from 3-point range and scored a game-high 14 points to help the Badgers (11-2) post the fourth-largest margin of victory in program history.

Dec. 27, Kohl Center

Record: 12-2, 1-0 Big Ten

When Zak Showalter was asked about his recent surge in scoring Tuesday night, the senior guard on the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team made it clear that the explanation went beyond anything he’s doing.

“Guys just giving me the ball in good positions,” Showalter said, nodding at senior forward Nigel Hayes and sophomore forward Ethan Happ. “That’s pretty easy to do when you’ve got teammates like these guys. Guys have been collapsing on them, and obviously that presents opportunities and I’ve just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Hayes scored a game-high 20 points and Happ added 10 points and 11 rebounds for UW, which extended its winning streak to eight games heading into a challenging stretch that includes road trips to No. 16 Indiana on Jan. 3 and No. 15 Purdue on Jan. 8.

The Badgers (12-2, 1-0 Big Ten) never trailed against the Scarlet Knights, but Rutgers cut a 21-point deficit to single digits in the second half. Showalter stepped up to help stop the bleeding, scoring 10 points during a 14-2 run that put the game out of reach.

Showalter finished three points shy of his career high, set last season against Rutgers. He’s averaging 12.5 points over his last four games, easing the load on UW’s “Big Three” of Hayes, Happ and senior point guard Bronson Koenig.

Jan. 3, Assembly Hall

Record: 13-2 (2-0 Big Ten)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – There was one word that was mentioned more than any other as the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team prepared for what was to come Tuesday night.

Composure.

Ethan Happ didn’t want to venture a guess on exactly how many times it was said by one of the team’s veterans or a member of the coaching staff, so the sophomore forward settled on a range instead: more than 20, less than 35.

“We’ve played in some pretty crazy places and in some pretty intense games,” UW senior point guard Bronson Koenig said. “With a group full of veterans like this, I knew we wouldn’t be rattled at all and we’d keep our composure.”

It was the first loss in more than six weeks for the Badgers (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten), who shot 39.0 percent from the field and finished with a season-low 0.859 points per possession. UW, which shot 40.0 percent from 3-point range during its winning streak, went 2 of 14 from the 3-point range against the Boilermakers (14-3, 3-1).

The Badgers hadn’t seen a defense as good as Purdue’s since their last defeat, a 71-56 setback against North Carolina in the final of the Maui Invitational more than six weeks ago.

“We have to make shots against a team like this,” UW coach Greg Gard said.

The Badgers (15-3, 4-1 Big Ten) struggled offensively for the first 28 minutes of the game and had some lapses on the other end of the court as well. Still, they flipped the switch in time to avoid a damaging loss in their quest for a second conference title in three seasons.

“There are going to be nights like this, like I told our guys, where you’ve just got to dig in and continue to scrap and fight and find a way,” UW coach Greg Gard said after his team moved into a tie with Maryland atop the Big Ten standings. “But I was proud of our guys for how they responded and didn’t back down when things maybe weren’t going well.”

Jan. 21, Williams Arena

Record: 16-3, 5-1 Big Ten

MINNEAPOLIS – After the final buzzer sounded, when an emotionally draining victory was finally secured for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team, Ethan Happ found a spot on the Williams Arena court and sprawled out.

Before teammates arrived to help him to his feet, Happ spent a few moments on his back, his hands on his head as he looked up at the rafters.

“That,” Happ said of his reaction, “was a mixture of happiness and exhaustion.”

UW moved back into a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference thanks in large part to a monster performance from Happ, who scored a career-high 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals in 38 minutes.

The Badgers (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten) also needed big plays from seniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig. Hayes was on the floor for a game-high 42 minutes and finished with 21 points, while Koenig’s second clutch 3-pointer of the extra session put UW ahead for good in the final minute.

Afterward, UW coach Greg Gard called it a “heck of a college basketball game,” and that was probably an understatement.

Jan. 24, Kohl Center

Record: 17-3, 6-1 Big Ten

Greg Gard was not a happy camper in the first half Tuesday night, and the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach got even more annoyed when he used part of the halftime break to watch some video clips from the opening 20 minutes.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig continued his hot shooting from outside in Big Ten play, finishing with four 3-pointers and a game-high 20 points as UW (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten) extended its winning streak to four games.

Senior forward Vitto Brown added a season-high 16 points and sophomore forward Ethan Happ had 14 for the Badgers, who outscored the Nittany Lions 46-22 in the second half.

Gard’s main gripe in the first half was UW’s transition defense. After UW was slow to get set on defense and allowed Penn State junior forward Payton Banks to hit an open 3-pointer late in the first half, cutting the Badgers’ lead to two points, Gard called timeout and was livid in the huddle.

“It’s one thing if they come down and hit a 3 that’s highly contested,” Gard said. “But we had totally lost guys in transition and typically we just didn’t communicate well enough.”

At halftime, Gard in his assistants spent some time in the coaches’ locker room going over clips of UW’s struggles on defense.

“I got reminded very vividly of what happened to us in transition,” Gard said. “So it helped me refresh my memory exactly who and when and how. We just had to re-emphasize our rules in transition, re-emphasize that probably nobody in the country works on that more than us from October on and we have to have some pride in that. And they did. They responded.”

Sophomore forward Ethan Happ finished with a career-high 32 points to help UW avoid a major upset and remain tied with Maryland atop the Big Ten.

Koenig added 10 points for UW, which overcame a nine-point deficit over the final 3 minutes, 11 seconds of regulation and won despite shooting 12.0 percent (3 of 25) from 3-point range.

The Badgers (18-3, 7-1 Big Ten) finished at 33.3 percent overall, but it took a red-hot closing stretch to get to that mark.

As he watched his team go 9 of 46 from the field with 32 points in its first 58 possessions, UW coach Greg Gard said he resorted to telling jokes in the huddle during breaks to try to loosen up his players.

Not only did UW break out of its slump, it was nearly unstoppable down the stretch. Over the final 8:11 of the game, the Badgers went 11 of 14 from the field with 29 points in 15 possessions.

“Obviously, not exactly a thing of beauty,” Gard said after his team overcame field goal droughts of 13:52 and 7:19. “But thankfully, defensively we were able to get some things done and we kept them off the glass enough. And then eventually, just about in the nick of time, we were able to get a couple of shots to go down.”

Jan. 31, State Farm Center

Record: 19-3, 8-1 Big Ten

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – One of the more amazing stats from a series that has become one-sided is that Illinois hasn’t scored more than 70 points in a game against the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team in 12 years.

The Fighting Illini didn’t even come close to reaching that mark Tuesday night.

Nigel Hayes added 11 points and eight rebounds as UW won its sixth consecutive game to remain tied for first place in the Big Ten Conference with Maryland.

The Badgers (19-3, 8-1 Big Ten) struggled offensively for the second game in a row, shooting just 40.7 percent this time, but it didn’t matter.

“Terrific defensively,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “Maybe as well as we’ve played defensively in terms of what we did in the half-court.”

Gard had warned his players leading up to the game that Illinois had shown offensive firepower at home this season. The Illini were 10-2 at home before Tuesday, averaging 83.2 points per game while shooting 49.9 percent at the State Farm Center.

Feb. 5, Kohl Center

Record: 20-3 (9-1 Big Ten)

It would have taken a trip to information-shutdown mode – no television, no social media – for the members of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team to not notice what was happening in the college basketball world on Saturday.

Not only did home teams go winless in four Big Ten Conference games, six of the top nine teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll went down on a wild day around the nation.

Hayes went 7 of 8 from the free throw line, making two in the closing seconds to seal UW’s 19th consecutive win at home.

A week after moving back into the Top 10 of the AP rankings, the Badgers likely will climb a few more spots when a new poll is released Monday.

“The scary thing is, the smaller that number is next to your name, the harder the games get,” Hayes said. “It’s always tough, but I think it’s something that you enjoy, getting the best (from opponents). No one wants to play in 20-point blowouts night in and night out, so the competition and close games is something that we look forward to. But we also know that again, as that number gets smaller, the bulls-eye gets bigger.”

Hayes’ 3-pointer with 18.4 seconds remaining led to a win that gave UW a 1½-game lead in the Big Ten with seven games to play. While second-place Purdue won earlier Thursday night at Indiana, three other title contenders – Maryland, Northwestern and Michigan State – lost earlier this week.

The Badgers (21-3, 10-1 Big Ten), meanwhile, keep taking care of business. Their eighth consecutive victory wasn’t pretty – that’s becoming a familiar refrain with this team – but UW will take a road win any way it can get it, style points be damned.

Nebraska coach Tim Miles may have summed it up best after the game when talking about the Badgers, whose winning streak includes three overtime wins and two other games decided by six or fewer points.

“They’ve been through battles,” Miles said, “and they don’t get rattled.”

McIntosh finished with a game-high 25 points and also produced seven rebounds and seven assists in a magnificent performance that moved Northwestern one step closer to the first NCAA tournament berth in program history.

He’d get no argument from a sellout crowd of 17,287 at the Kohl Center, but it’s still an eye-opening statement considering UW’s lineup includes a Big Ten Conference Player of the Year candidate in Ethan Happ and two other All-Big Ten candidates in Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig.

Happ finished with nine points, but the sophomore forward didn’t make a field goal over the final 34 minutes, 14 seconds of the game. His lack of production around the rim was a big reason UW managed a season-low 12 points in the paint, 21.5 under its season average.

Feb. 16, Crisler Center

Record: 21-5 (10-3 Big Ten)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Even without Bronson Koenig in the lineup, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team had a chance to escape Crisler Arena with a victory that would have kept it alone atop the Big Ten Conference standings.

“It’s tough to not have ‘B’ in there, of course,” UW sophomore forward Ethan Happ said of Koenig, who sat out with a strained left calf. "But it was a winnable game.”

Losing it means the Badgers (21-5, 10-3 Big Ten), who have lost consecutive games for the first time this season, find themselves in a three-way tie for first place with Maryland and Purdue. This defeat, combined with one at home to Northwestern on Sunday, caused UW’s 1½-game lead in the standings to disappear in a span of five days.

The Badgers don’t have time to lick their wounds. They host the Terrapins on Sunday at the Kohl Center, and it’s quite possible UW will have to take on Melo Trimble and Co. without Koenig.

“It stinks, it really does,” Happ said. “But nothing we can do about it now besides move on to Sunday.”

Michigan’s third victory in its last 20 meetings with UW gave the Wolverines’ NCAA tournament hoops a big boost.

Feb. 19, Kohl Center

Record: 22-5, 11-3 Big Ten

If ever a moment required urgency, it was the one staring the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team in the face as it returned to the floor for the second half Sunday afternoon.

The Badgers were facing a six-point deficit in a game it needed to win in order to avoid falling behind two teams in the Big Ten Conference with four games to play. A defeat would have extended UW’s skid to three games heading into a two-game road trip this week.

Given that backdrop, it’s not hyperbole to call it the most important half of the season to date for Greg Gard’s team.

The Badgers outscored the Terrapins 44-27 after halftime and finished with a 26-11 rebounding advantage during that stretch, including 10-3 on the offensive glass. UW displayed the determination and toughness that had been missing in back-to-back losses to Northwestern and Michigan.

“That’s kind of why we dropped the last two,” Hayes said. “We haven’t matched or exceeded the sense of urgency that other teams are playing with. They’re fighting for their tournament lives and trying to build a resume, and we should be fighting to have kept the lead (in the Big Ten) that we did have.”

The most disappointing aspect of the Badgers’ third loss in four games was how they were outworked by a team on a three-game losing streak that had only one team below it in the Big Ten standings entering the night.

“You’ve always got to be fearful of the team or the person who has nothing to lose, and that’s kind of what happened tonight,” UW senior Bronson Koenig said. “They were just tougher than us, they beat us to loose balls and they played harder than us. That’s something we pride ourselves on.”

Koenig matched a career high with 27 points and became UW’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, but he got little help.

Worse yet, the Badgers (22-6, 11-4 Big Ten) were atrocious on defense, an area of strength all season.

UW had a chance to move back into a first-place tie with Purdue atop the Big Ten standings with a win after Michigan did the Badgers a favor Saturday by beating the visiting Boilermakers 82-70 at Crisler Arena.

Instead, the Badgers (22-7, 11-5 Big Ten) remain one game back with two to play and have three teams – Maryland, Minnesota and Michigan State – nipping at their heels.

“Only so much can be said, there’s got to be actions behind those words,” senior point guard Bronson Koenig said after UW’s fourth loss in five games. “It’s not the end of the world. We’ve been through this before, so it’s about how we respond.”

Meanwhile, the way the Badgers (22-8, 11-6 Big Ten) collapsed was brutal for a team that had a 1½-game lead in the Big Ten standings after an overtime win at Nebraska on Feb. 9. After five losses in a span of seven games, the best UW can do is finish in second place behind outright champion Purdue.

“To go out on this kind of note against a really good team, I thought it was great,” Koenig said after UW snapped the Golden Gophers’ eight-game winning streak. “Just everything.”

Koenig played a key role, scoring all 17 of his points after halftime to help the Badgers (23-8, 12-6 Big Ten) wrap up the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. They’ll play either Iowa or Indiana in a quarterfinal game on Friday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

UW finished in a tie for second place with Maryland in the regular-season standings but earned the tiebreaker because of a victory over the Terrapins two weeks ago. That was the Badgers’ only victory in a span of six games, a slump that derailed their title chances and weighed heavily on the four seniors nearing the end of their time at UW.

When Greg Gard addressed his team before the game Sunday, he told them to just relax and play. That’s easier said than done, but eventually the Badgers found a path to happiness.

March 10, Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

Record: 24-8

WASHINGTON – The topic of an early exit from the last year’s Big Ten Conference tournament came up as the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team was preparing for the 2017 event.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation.

The one thing UW had going for it this time around was its opponent. The No. 24 Badgers have been a thorn in Indiana’s side for the better part of a decade, and that trend continued Friday night at the Verizon Center.

The victory helped the Badgers complete a three-game sweep of Indiana this season. Dating to 2008, UW has won 18 of 20 meetings between these teams.

Most importantly, the win helped the second-seeded Badgers (24-8) take the first step toward a tournament title. They’ll play Northwestern (23-10), the No. 6 seed, Saturday at approximately 2:30 p.m. in a semifinal game.

UW didn’t even make it to the quarterfinal round a year ago after losing by double digits to Nebraska.

“We talked about that earlier today,” Badgers senior guard Zak Showalter said, “that we can’t come in here and lay an egg like we did last year.”

March 10, Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

Record: 25-8

March 10, Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

Record: 25-9

March 16, KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York

Record: 26-9

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A lot was made about the way the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team was treated by the NCAA tournament committee, from the Badgers’ No. 8 seed to the brutal turnaround they were handed after playing Sunday in the Big Ten tournament final.

Say this for the bracket-makers, though: Pitting the Badgers against Virginia Tech resulted in one of the most intriguing first-round matchups in the entire tournament.

The teams were vastly different in terms of style and pedigree. The Badgers were big and dripping with NCAA tournament experience; the Hokies were more guard-oriented and making their first trip to the Big Dance in a decade.

Koenig set a program record with eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points for the Badgers (26-9), who advance to face Villanova (32-3) in the round of 32 on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 1:40 p.m.

Hayes finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Most of that production -- 14 points and seven rebounds -- came after halftime and helped UW hold off several surges by the Hokies (22-11).

“They were great,” UW sophomore center Ethan Happ said. “It’s win or lose, and they stepped up huge for us. That was truly amazing. Both of them, big-time players.”

March 18, KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York

Record: 27-9

BUFFALO, N.Y. – When it was over and the mayhem had died down, Nigel Hayes calmly made his way over to the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball cheering section across from the team’s bench.

The senior forward stepped over a makeshift railing at the KeyBank Center and made his way to his mom for a hug to celebrate the 13th NCAA tournament win of his career. Hayes didn’t say a word, but the moment of silence didn’t last long. Talaya Davis pulled her son close to her and screamed three words into his ear: “We did it!”

The Badgers sure did, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the guy who set a program record Saturday afternoon by appearing in his 149th career game.

Hayes finished with a team-high 19 points and scored the go-ahead basket with 11.4 seconds remaining, lifting UW to a 65-62 victory over defending national champion Villanova.

Senior point guard Bronson Koenig added 17 points to help send the Badgers (27-9) to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in seven seasons. They’ll play either Virginia or Florida in an East region semifinal on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Not bad for a team that received a No. 8 seed when the bracket was announced on Selection Sunday.

“Having been in this long enough, having been a 1, having been a 2, having been a 12, you’ve just got to go play,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “Like I said, there’s so much parity, and teams are so good when you get to this time of year, you just have to lace them up and not worry about that. That’s the approach we’ve taken.

“I told these guys, ‘I don’t care where we’re seeded. We have to win six games. Let’s start with these two this weekend.’ ”

March 24, Madison Square Garden in New York

Record: 27-10

NEW YORK — The leaders of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team began the season with big goals and weren’t afraid to share them with anyone who asked.

Senior forward Nigel Hayes was one of three players who represented the Badgers at Big Ten Media Day on Oct. 13 in Washington, D.C. When Hayes was asked during a television interview to finish the sentence, “This season, Wisconsin will …,” he offered the following response: “Have the greatest season of basketball it’s ever had.”

Back then, Hayes and Co. would have scoffed at the suggestion UW would finish the season without winning a Big Ten regular-season or tournament title. And not even being among the Final Four in the NCAA tournament? Not possible.

A game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer by Florida junior guard Chris Chiozza ended the careers of a decorated four-member UW senior class that included Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Zak Showalter and Vitto Brown.

Those four players walked off the floor in stunned silence. UW sophomore center Ethan Happ put his arm around Showalter and told him to hold his tears until the Badgers reached the locker room, but it was too late.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to prevent this whole season, this whole tournament run, having to come back in to tell all these guys I love them and thank you for everything,” Showalter said. “This isn’t how I wanted to do it.”

Hayes scored 22 points to lead five UW players in double figures. The Badgers (27-10) also got 21 points from sophomore center Ethan Happ, 14 from Showalter, 13 from Koenig and 10 from Brown.

Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Gators (27-8), who advance to play South Carolina in a in an Elite Eight matchup on Sunday. The seventh-seeded Gamecocks (25-10) advanced with a 70-50 win over third-seeded Baylor.

Chiozza scored five of his eight points in the final 24 seconds of the game. His last basket is one that will be replayed over and over in the Badgers’ minds for years to come.

“We left it all out on the floor, that’s all we could ask,” Koenig said. “They hit a prayer.”